Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Picking strawberries in Lembang

Small scissors and a woven bamboo basket are all you need to harvest ripe, red strawberries at Happy Farm, a strawberry garden in Lembang, West Java.

This back-to-nature activity is relaxing, fun and will keep everybody in the family engaged.

After collecting your own strawberries from the field, put them into a basket and take them to the cashier for payment. You can either bring them home to enjoy later, or ask the staff to blend them into a glass of fresh juice right on the spot.

Apart from strawberry picking, Happy Farm also provides several other outdoor activities for the whole family, including ATV excursions, horseback riding, a trampoline and an adrenaline-spiking flying fox.

If hungry for something more filling than strawberries, go to Dapur Bamboe, an onsite restaurant offering burgers, grilled chicken, soup, corn-on-the-cob and of course strawberry-based yogurt and jam.

Signature Sundanese handicrafts like the bamboo musical instrument Angklung or Wayang Golek puppets are available for purchase as souvenirs. You can get them at the farm's gift shop near the main entrance.

The farm, one of the main tourist attractions in Lembang, is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. If you visit on weekend, however, prepare for a traffic jam in the area.

Happy Farm (Jl Raya Lembang 175 D) is easy to find as it is located right on the side of the main road. Most visitors drive their own vehicles to get there, but public transportation, a minivan, is also available.